Hispanic Culture: The Legend Of La Llorona

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“Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is”, from an old German proverb. This quote relates to the Hispanic legend of La Llorona and how the fear of La Llorona produces a myth deadlier than the myth actually is. In the legend of La Llorona a beautiful mother throws her children into a river after her husband ignores her. She instantly regrets killing her children and now, as a ghost, roams bodies of water looking for her lost children. La Llorona is a mythological character in the Hispanic culture; the legend affected the past Hispanic culture by stimulating fear in the minds of children and adults. Furthermore, the legend affected the present Hispanic culture by cautioning married couples to not commit adultery and has inspired many horror genres.

Nobody knows where the legend of La Llorona specifically originated, but it is believed to have come from the Hispanic culture approximately 500 years ago. The legend has evolved and expanded from Mexico and now the legend is being told around the world. As the legend was passed down from generation to generation it has
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In the 1960’s film directed by Rene Cardona, called La Llorona, which premiered in Mexico and frightened the communities. More recently, La Llorona was the main inspiration of Universal Studios’s 2013 house of horrors attraction. “Th attraction involved guests entering both an abandoned Mexican Chapel, and a funeral for her victims, with creative directors at the park looking to 'transport guests into her mysterious realm”(Flores 16). Additionally, the book Summer of the Mariposas, published in 2012 by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, was inspired by the events the myth of La Llorona. The book portrayed a young boy who drowned in a pool and the family used La Llorona to revive the boy back to life. As one can see La Llorona influenced current Hispanic films, attractions, and books to entertain the